"What a pity… it's just a juvenile Falling Heart Flame." Xiao Yan stared at the flame gently flickering before him and let out a quiet sigh. While he had indeed been surprised that such a place could birth another Falling Heart Flame, the one in front of him was clearly far weaker than the one he had refined before. Whether in terms of temperature or scale, this one was still in its infancy.
If this flame had been fully matured, he might have been able to rely on its energy to smoothly break through to the Dou Zun level. It could have even triggered an evolution in Flame Mantra. But as it stood—merely a juvenile flame—its value to him was negligible. Even if he refined it, it wouldn't amount to much.
"Still… meat is meat, even if it's mosquito meat." Shaking his head, Xiao Yan reached out to collect the tiny flame. Yet just as he was about to do so, the ancient skeleton before him lit up with a dazzling radiance. A wave of spatial power rippled out from the bones and surged toward him.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan gave a cold snort. He had already sensed faint soul fluctuations from the skeleton upon entering, so this wasn't unexpected. With a light stomp, spatial ripples undulated in front of him, neatly slicing through the sudden spatial force. A strong suction burst from his palm and drew the juvenile Falling Heart Flame into his hand.
"Tsk… quite the exquisite spatial technique. I didn't expect the current Dou Qi Continent to birth such a young Dou Zun expert… truly, the new generation surpasses the old." A wispy soul form slowly floated out from the skeleton, staring at Xiao Yan with surprise on his aged face.
Because Xiao Yan had hidden his aura using his soul force, the spirit couldn't determine his exact cultivation. But the spatial power Xiao Yan displayed led him to believe Xiao Yan was a fellow Dou Zun.
"And who might you be?" Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. The summoning he'd sensed earlier might not have only come from the flame—it was quite possible this old ghost had a hand in it. Judging by the soul's fluctuations, this one had clearly been far weaker than Yao Lao in life and had been dead for so long that his soul would dissipate within a few years.
"My name is Yao Tianhuo. Back in my prime, they called me the Heavenly Flame Venerable." The elderly soul said slowly, his voice tinged with pride, confirming Xiao Yan's assumption—this old man had once been a Dou Zun-level expert.
"Recently, I kept hearing thunder in the area. But your aura is clearly fire-based… you're an alchemist, aren't you? Those thunderclaps must have been caused by your pill refinement." The Heavenly Flame Venerable looked at Xiao Yan, his voice carrying a hint of hope.
"That's right," Xiao Yan nodded. "Do you have a request?"
"If you're a high-level alchemist capable of summoning pill lightning, then surely you know how to repair soul force, don't you?" the old spirit asked earnestly. His strength had long since withered, and his soul now hovered on the brink of annihilation. To him, Xiao Yan was the last lifeline. As such, his tone became notably more respectful.
Xiao Yan paused briefly at the question, a thought striking him: 'Wait, didn't I say I'd wake up Yao Lao? That was like… a hundred chapters ago…' With everything that had happened since, he had completely forgotten.
Of course, Xiao Yan wasn't entirely to blame. In his previous life, he'd always cultivated alone, so even without Yao Lao around, he didn't feel anything was off—it was something he had long grown used to. Though he had occasionally remembered Yao Lao, it had just never occurred to him that his teacher was still sleeping.
"Rest assured, young friend. If you help me restore my soul, I swear on my spirit that I will never harm you," the old man added quickly, mistaking Xiao Yan's pause as hesitation over whether he could be trusted.
"What do I get out of this?" Xiao Yan asked bluntly. He didn't bother pretending. He wasn't about to waste time helping others without benefit. As for spirit oaths? Please. If every promise held true, he'd be a charred corpse from all the heavenly lightning by now.
The Heavenly Flame Venerable gave a bitter smile. With a wave of his hand, a white storage ring floated over from the skeleton. From it, a faint scroll emerged and drifted toward Xiao Yan. "This is my signature Dou Technique—the Five-Wheel Fire Separation Method. If you help restore my soul, it's yours."
Xiao Yan took the scroll but barely glanced at it before losing interest. From its description, it seemed like a unique flame control technique. But with his mastery over flame manipulation already at the peak, this was of little use to him.
The scroll claimed that fusing four different Heavenly Flames using this method could unleash a power comparable to a Heaven Rank Dou Technique. But Xiao Yan already had real Heaven Rank Dou Techniques—and his own four-flame Wrath of the Flame Lotus was probably more destructive than anything this could produce.
Seeing Xiao Yan's underwhelmed response, the old man gave a sheepish laugh. Still, he didn't take offense. In his eyes, someone so young with Dou Zong cultivation must be the scion of some ancient power. It was only natural that his humble Dou Technique failed to impress.
Xiao Yan idly twirled the scroll between his fingers as his mind turned. With his current strength, eliminating this soul was no problem. Let alone a soul—if this guy were in his prime, he still wouldn't be a match for him. The question now was whether it was more useful to keep this old man alive.
"Helping the elder restore your soul isn't an issue," Xiao Yan said after some thought. "But… I'll need you to help me with a few things once you're restored."
His voice was calm, and his tone even. After considering the matter, he realized the old man might be more useful alive. Of course, he had no intention of trusting him based on mere words. He'd prepare contingencies as needed.
"The details can wait until after you recover. But don't worry, nothing I'll ask of you will go against your principles." Xiao Yan smiled faintly. If Hai Bodong were here, he'd likely find Xiao Yan's smooth-talking familiar. After all, this was the same line he'd been duped with years ago.
(End of Chapter)
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